Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are now available to order

Every year manufacturers try to wow us with a new flagship release. In recent years though it has become increasingly difficult to be impressed, as many of the advancements in recent devices are not the big jumps in technology they once were.

Samsung has chosen to make an obvious statement with the new Galaxy S8 range. The screen is the most important of the phone. It is the window through which we view and interact with the modern world.

The last few generations have given us truly curved edges and new ways to interact. With the S8, Samsung take this to the logical extreme available in modern technology: the Infinity Display

The Samsung Galaxy S has an integrated 3,000 mAh battery which has undergone the most stringent safety tests Samsung have ever performed.

Quick charging technology is available through the USB Type-C port. Samsung has also ensured wireless charging is available with either Qi or PMA technology.

BixBy Assistant

Bixby is different. Rather than simply answering questions or providing you with product lists, Bixby is designed to be a true assistant.

Bixby will help you use your phone, as well as making helpful, context-sensitive suggestions that depend on what you may be doing with your Galaxy S8 Plus at the time.

Always available but never intrusive, you can launch Bixby at any time with the dedicated button on the side of the phone.

Many core applications will be Bixby compatible at launch such as messaging, phone, contacts, email, maps and camera. With Bixby active, you can seamlessly work between these apps without having to use the phone interface.

The new assistant will also work as a situationally aware Augmented Reality agent. With the camera open and Bixby active, you can gain extra information about landmarks or local points of interest. Perhaps the area’s history will show on screen or opening times and menus will be offered.

You could even translate a foreign road sign into your native language then ask for maps to route you there, all by pointing the camera and asking!

Locations can be saved and alerts created for specific events. For instance, if you find a long article on your lunch break that you would like to read later, you can activate Bixby and ask it to remind you about it an hour after you get home.

Bixby also has its own home page as a dedicated system app. This provides an overview of all the events, locations, alerts and reminders you have set, all presented in a simple card interface and intelligently grouped to make searching easier.

Infinity Display

With their 3D glass and Edge technology, Samsung has become incredibly adept at fitting a big screen in a body that belies its size. Research and Development have gone into further miniaturising common internal components, so the screen can be stretched right to the edge.

This new screen has a unique 18.5: 9 screen ratio, making it taller than before. Plus with practically zero edge bezel and only minimal edges to the top and bottom, almost the entire front surface of the phone is the screen.

That screen ratio will allow for traditional 16:9 widescreen content from YouTube, Netflix and other services to play without issue. It also means many movies and other features shot in more cinematic widescreen will fit better, with less black borders.

Samsung’s much praised Super AMOLED+ technology delivers incredible contrast ratios and rich colours, as well as improving battery life and allowing for smart notifications through ‘always-on’ technology.

The QHD+ resolution of 1440 x 2960 is the first of its kind. This is also the first smartphone to be given an HDR certification from the UHD alliance. With this, streaming services such as Amazon & Netflix will be able to provide tailored high resolution content that displays natively.

Integrated into the bottom section of the phone is an invisible Virtual Home Button. A pressure sensitive area of the screen, localised vibrations provide feedback so you can have extra actions beyond simply returning to the home screen.

Clove

This article was written by a member of the Clove Team.
Clove is a specialist provider of mobile technology products, including smartphones, tablets, wearables, connected home products, memory cards and associated accessories.